EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. BJ 2014 17

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MEDICAL EXPENSES AND EXAMINATIONS RELATED
TO THE CRIME OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
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WHEREAS,
Article I, Section 1 of the Louisiana
Constitution is titled Origin and Purpose of Government, and
provides
All government, of right, originates with the
people, is founded on their will alone, and is
instituted to protect the rights of the individual
and for the good of the whole. Its only legitimate
ends are to secure justice for all, preserve peace,
protect the rights, and promote the happiness and
general welfare of the people. The rights
enumerated in this Article are inalienable by the
state and shall be preserved inviolate by the
state.;
WHEREAS,
Article IV, Section 5 establishes the governor
as the chief executive officer of the State and charged with the duty
to faithfully support the constitution and laws of the State and see
that the laws are faithfully executed;
WHEREAS,
sexual assault is a horrendous crime that
creates physical and emotional damage to victims, for which special
measures must be taken by every public officer and agency in this
state in order to bring the perpetrators to justice and assist the
victims in their recovery;

WHEREAS,
the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and
Administration of Criminal Justice, a statutorily created agency in the executive
branch, is responsible for bringing together persons familiar with law
enforcement and the administration of criminal justice for the purpose of
studying and encouraging the adoption of methods by which law enforcement
can be made more effective and justice administered more efficiently and fairly
so that the citizens of this state may be more fully protected.

WHEREAS,
the Crime Victims Reparations Board, created in statute
under the jurisdiction of the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and
Administration of Criminal Justice, is responsible for assisting victims of crime
with the financial losses caused by the crime, and is charged with administering
this vital program in accordance with law and the administrative rules which it
has promulgated;

WHEREAS,
the Department of Health and Hospitals,
which is created within the executive branch, is responsible for
protecting and promoting the health of the people of this state by
ensuring access to preventative, medical, and rehabilitative services;
WHEREAS,
the Department of Public Safety, which is
also statutorily created within the executive branch, is responsible
for protecting the health and safety of the people of this state by
providing functions related to the enforcement of laws of the state
and the maintenance of investigations;

WHEREAS,
both the Department of Health and Hospitals and the
Department of Public Safety are responsible for carrying out their statutory
duties in accordance with the laws and the administrative rules promulgated by
them;

WHEREAS,
Executive Order BJ 201414 directed the Board of
Regents and the Crime Victims Reparations Board to review and revise its
policies and procedures according to best practices and it is the goal of this
administration that a victim of sexual assault not be billed for the financial cost
of forensic or other testing incident to the crime whether the victim reports the
crime to law enforcement or not, that such bills be sent for payment directly to
the Crime Victims Reparations Board, and that this outcome will require a
change in statutory law;
WHEREAS,
it is incumbent upon the public officers and
agencies, with a role to play in bringing the perpetrators to justice
and assisting the victims in their recovery, to coordinate their efforts
to ensure that this vital issue is addressed immediately.

NOW THEREFORE, I, BOBBY JINDAL, Governor of the State of

Louisiana, by virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution and laws of the
State of Louisiana, do hereby order and direct as follows:

SECTION 1:
The Crime Victims Reparations Board, in consultation
with the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement, shall review and revise
its administrative rules, policies, and practices to develop a defined list of
eligible medical expenses related to the forensic medical examination provided
to victims of sexual assault for which such victims of sexual assault may
assign, or otherwise transfer, his or her right to collect these specific expenses
from the Crime Victims Reparations Board to the hospital or healthcare
provider that conducts the forensic medical examination or provides medical
services related to the sexual assault. Upon assignment or transfer of this right,
the hospital or health care facility may apply on behalf of thevictim and the
agency may pay such eligible expenses directly to the hospital or health care
facility.
SECTION 2:
The Crime Victims Reparations Board shall exercise its
statutory discretion, asprovided for in R.S. 46:1806, to revise its administrative
rules, policies, and practices to extend the time period by which a victim has
reported an act of sexual assault to the appropriate law enforcement officers
from 72 hours to 1 year in order to make a claim for reparations.

SECTION 3:
The Department of Health and Hospitals and the
Department of Public Safety shall jointly convene a group to review and
formulate a definition for Forensic Medical Exam as it relates to the crime of
sexual assault in order to ensure that all charges related to such forensic
medical exam including, but not limited to emergency room charges, hospital
stay charges, and physician charges are included in that definition such that
those expenses are not chargeable to the sexual assault victim. The Department
of Health and Hospitals and the Department Public Safety shall further jointly
revise such administrative rules, policies, and practices in accordance with their
findings as they pertain to victims of sexual assault.
SECTION 4:
The Department of Health and Hospitals,
through the medical directors of each of its nine (9) regional Health
Service Districts, shall coordinate a sexual assault response plan for
each district and shall submit such plan to the Secretary by February
1, 2015. The plan shall include existing resources and infrastructure
and shall clearly outline the entity responsible for the purchase of
sexual assault examination kits, the standards and procedures for the
storage of such kits, and the standards, and procedures for a woman
to receive a sexual assault examination to ensure access to a forensic
medical examination in every parish. The plan shall further outline
the standards and procedures for the handling and payment of
medical bills related to the sexual assault examination to clarify and
ensure that those standards and procedures are in compliance with
the law.
SECTION 5:
The Department of Health and Hospitals and the
Department of Public Safety are jointly directed to convene a group to review
and formulate the minimum standards and requirements for the contents of a
sexual assault examination kit, including the accompanying paperwork to be
included therein, with the intent of creating a kit that that is shelf stable and has
no expiration date. The Department of Health andHospitals and the
Department Public Safety shall further jointly revise such administrative rules,
policies, and practices in accordance with their findings as they pertain to
victims of sexual assault.
SECTION 6:
All departments, budget units, agencies, offices, entities,
and officers of theexecutive branch of the State of Louisiana are authorized and
directed to cooperate in the implementation of the provisions of this Order.

SECTION 7:
Nothing in this Order shall be applied in a manner which
violates, or is contrary to, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), theFamily and
Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA), or any other applicable federal or state law, rule,
or regulation.

SECTION 8:
The Order is effectiveDecember 9th, 2014 and shall
remain in effect modified, terminated, or rescinded by the Governor, or
terminated by operation of law.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have set my hand officially

and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of Louisiana, at the
Capitol, in the City of Baton Rouge, on this 9th day of
December, 2014.